WHAT A NIGHT! Normally before the Raptor games I go to Carlyle Brewing company to do some tailgating since you arenÂ’t allowed to tailgate in the city limits. Yesterday since we decided to go to the Raptors sponsored tailgate party. They had a VIP section for season ticket holders. Since they were going to do something nice for us, I figured I should go check it out. Well we did and to be honest I wasnÂ’t all that impressed.

When we arrived at the park we had to go through the security shake down. Fine, I can understand that, but they really should get a security guy that is familiar with what Illinois licenses look like and their renewal processes. He was completely thrown off by Ktreva’s and my license. To quote him, “I’ve never seen a renewal sticker for a license before.” Which is sad, because I got my renewal sticker 4 years ago.

You couldnÂ’t just buy beer or food; you had to buy tickets in order to get beer or food. Depending on what you where getting depended on how many tickets you needed. Well, I donÂ’t know how much IÂ’m going to need in advance, and there is only one place to get tickets, which wasnÂ’t by the beer or food tent. Thus many trips back and forth to get tickets.

They stated the tailgating was going to start at 4:00 with food and drink. Well they had Bud, Bud light and Bud Select (Bleh to all three). The food wasnÂ’t ready until almost 5:30. The VIP section was supposed to have it so we didnÂ’t need to wait in line with everyone else to get food and drink. The drink wasnÂ’t a problem, food however caused quite a bit of commotion.

They had a live band for everyone to enjoy, the band was name Ten Times Better. Well to steel a line from Ktreva, “Just about any other band would have been ten times better”. It may have been the sound system they where using or the mixing board, but they didn’t sound good at all. All in all I pretty much decided I’m not going to back to their tailgating party again unless there is a band I really want to here. IE I know someone playing in the band.

The game itself rocked. Unfortunately we lost. But I did get another game ball. My favorite player, Jeremiah Thompson scored a pair of touchdowns. After his second touchdown he came over and threw me the ball he scored with. Then after the game I stuck around to get him to autograph it.

And thatÂ’s how I got kicked out of the MetroCentre. They set up these tables for all the players and the Dynomites (Cheerleaders) to sit at. They had a line for people to walk down the row of tables so each person can autograph something. Well I didnÂ’t want everyoneÂ’s autograph, just ThompsonÂ’s and he was in the second to last spot. After waiting for 30 minutes just to get onto the field, and the line was moving slowly, I asked a guy if I could just run over and get ThompsonÂ’s. He told me he couldnÂ’t let me do that and then he said we probably wonÂ’t get anything signed anyway because they have to close in 20 minutes and the line wasnÂ’t moving fast at all.

When he walked away I turned to Ktreva and Boopie. I told them to stay in line, I was going to go get Thompson’s autograph when a break in the line got to him. Quickly I ran over handed him the ball and said, “Thompson, sign this before they kick me out.” As soon as he started signing it, two security guys came running over, “Sir, we can’t have you cut in the line like this we’re going to have to ask…” Me, “No problem, I just wanted his autograph on the ball he scored a TD with. I’m out of here.” Thompson gave me the ball back and I was escorted off the field. Ktreva and Boopie left the line and we headed home.

I did have a great time and IÂ’m looking forward to the next game in a couple of weeks. This morning I have no voice. So for those of you expecting a phone call from me today, itÂ’s not going to happen.

Posted by: Contagion at 09:12 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Tomorrow is a big day. IÂ’ve been counting the days for a while now in anticipation. Now I could tell you that tomorrow is important because itÂ’s CloneÂ’s birthday, and I guess that wouldnÂ’t be wrong. But thatÂ’s not why IÂ’m so excited. Tomorrow is the first day of football season!

Wait, did I say football season? Yes I did. The Rock River Raptors have their first game tomorrow night. I bought my season tickets again this year, the same incredible seats I had last year. Now I know some people say that Arena football is not real football. They would be wrong. Sure the field is shorter and there are fewer players on the field, but they hit just as hard, if not harder. Remember they are playing on lightly padded concrete and constantly are run into walls and flipped into the stands. These guys get hit so hard that you can feel it in the stands. A lot of these players played college ball or are trying to get into the NFL. They work hard and trust me; they are worthy of the respect that should go toward any athlete.

IÂ’ve completely thrown myself onto the Raptor bandwagon. Well, it is only their second season in Rockford and IÂ’ve had season tickets, best seats in the house if you ask me, for both seasons. IÂ’ve bought jerseys, shirts, hats, etc. IÂ’ve even bought Ktreva and the boys various Raptor gear. IÂ’m even getting a custom made Jersey this year. They changed their jersey style and I wanted to get one of my favorite playerÂ’s jerseysÂ… so I did. IÂ’ve completely thrown myself into the Raptor camp.

So tomorrow night at this time, IÂ’ll be in the stands getting ready for kick off. What are you going to be doing? If youÂ’re in the area, IÂ’d suggest heading to the MetroCentre and watching the game. ItÂ’s well worth the price of admission.

Posted by: Contagion at 05:52 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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